Kurt Busch enters the race as the defending champion, and the 39-year-old is eager to get 2018 off to a similarly good start. His 2017 campaign quickly faltered after his win at Daytona, culminating in a finish in 14th place in the standings and 22nd place at Homestead.

Per PRN, Busch admitted to feeling added pressure:

Alex Bowman won pole position after an impressive showing in qualifying. The 24-year-old didn’t participate in the previous editions of the race and failed to qualify in 2015.

Here’s a look at the moment he crossed the line:

He will be joined by Denny Hamlin on the front row. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing both had excellent qualifying runs, with four cars from each team making it to the second and final round.

For Hendrick, it’s the fourth pole win at Daytona in a row, and the team appears to be in prime position for success. They haven’t won the race since 2014, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. took his second title.

Hamlin is a former winner of the Daytona―he won in 2016―and his experience could give him the edge over Bowman, 24, and the rest of the Hendrick team, which has only one real veteran in 42-year-old Jimmie Johnson, a two-time winner at Daytona and seven-time Cup Series champion.

Johnson clocked the third-best lap in the first qualifying session, and he’ll be one to keep an eye on in the second qualifying session as well.